It wasn’t too bad actually, we just closed the window to the cord and kept the lights off in the kitchen.

Where in Mendocino? The city or the county? I had a hell of a time finding a charge up there

Isn't lower gauge better since it is a thicker cable?

A lower gauge means bigger wires and can handle higher watts and amps, and a longer length means handling lower watts and amps.

The range plug is 40A, need #8 minimum for that

You mean "don't use a higher gauge" I assume

Lower gauge = thicker wires = can handle more power

The magic term is "contractor cord"

But above all, never pull more than 12 amps from a regular household outlet. Most of them are only designed to deliver 15 amps. Even at 12 you risk tripping the circuit breaker.

Having had a similar experience I would suggest a couple of advantages. Depending on how low a state of charge you had on arrival, it might also be important to be able to make it to services or another fast charger if something urgent comes up. Also depending on whether there is an outside receptacle or not, this may leave the screens open for the least amount of time. I was done charging in half a day using a 50A receptacle recently. Last time at the same spot it was a 3 day affair. It is also more energy efficient to charge at 240V than 120V.

I’m driving a Ford Lightning. 120V will get you out of a jam but even overnight it’s pretty useless. Would have gained maybe 80km. We’re 4 hours from home.

A few days probably = 200 miles of charge which in my car (chevy volt) is about $40 worth of gas equivalent